WIGAN rockers Starsailor have spoken of their first meeting with Phil Spector, the legendary American record producer currently facing a murder charge.

"It was a great honour until, obviously, recently," said singer James Walsh. "It put a macabre twist on things."

Two years ago, during a tour stop in Los Angeles, the band met Spector's 20-year-old daughter, Nicole who told them her dad liked their music. They met the Wall of Sound producer, who created hits like You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling and Be My Baby in the 1960s, the next day and he informed them he would be producing their second album, Silence Is Easy.

"It was an opportunity that was too good to miss," Walsh said. "We got a great song out of it and we had some enjoyable experiences."

"What he did is an indication of how he can take something quite small and raw and energetic and turn it into something epic and beautiful and grand.

"The great thing about Phil Spector, and also his weakness, is he's kind of a one-trick pony," he said. "But his one trick is pretty impressive."

Their encounter with Spector, who has been charged over the death of an actress at his California mansion, ended unpleasantly when Starsailor fired him.